ClickStartMe.com announces product, invention contest on new crowdfunding site

ClickStartMe.com, a new and rapidly expanding website that “puts the fun in crowdfunding” has teamed with Harrington Multi Media Marketing (HM3) to announce a nationwide contest for inventors and product developers. In this online contest, ClickStartMe and HM3 will award the winner with a national marketing and distribution contract and a production of a television commercial for their product or invention.

Five contest finalists will be selected from any inventor or product developer who attempts to crowdfund their project on ClickStartMe.com. In August, 2013, the finalists will be flown to the Tampa Bay Area where they will visit HM3’s state-of-the-art television studios to present their product or invention before a panel of industry experts from the retail, merchandising and marketing world. The contest finale will be videotaped in high-definition and made available on the Internet, giving each of the product developers and inventors national.

“We can’t wait to give these five finalists a chance to pitch their products or inventions at the finale,” ClickStartMe founder Tess Hottenroth said. “Our panel of experts know what sells in the retail world, and we hope to discover one, and maybe several, new and exciting consumer items to bring to the market.”
By teaming with HM3, ClickStartMe brings Tim Harrington to the table for the contest. Harrington, an expert in product development, marketing, production of infomercials and short form commercials, media purchasing, and live shopping product presentations, is one of the most trusted names in the international direct response marketing industry. From 1987 to 1991, Harrington served as President of Quantum International, which parlayed a $75,000 investment into $50 million in first year sales. Harrington also previously served as Executive Vice President of National Media, a New York Stock Exchange company. While Harrington was at National Media, the company grew from an $18 million to a $500 million market cap and was the first company to launch infomercials internationally. Harrington moved to the Tampa Bay Area in 1994 as the co-founder of Home Shopping Network’s HSN Direct. In 2010, Harrington became Chairman and CEO of HM3.

According to Forbes magazine<i>,</i> crowdfunding is a growing $2.8 Billion industry that allows people or businesses to obtain small donations from a large number of people to support a project, cause or other financial need. On ClickStartMe, crowdfunding inventors or product developers typically give “rewards” or other things of value to donors, such as prototypes of the invention or pre-sales of the first products off the assembly line once manufactured. Hottenroth notes that inventors and product developers have already started funding projects on ClickStartMe, and many of the products seem to have great commercial appeal.

“I have a feeling that the next gadget that “everybody must have” will come out of this contest,” Hottenroth says. “It is really exciting to see some of the innovation that has already started to be funded on the site.”
ClickStartMe.com is the newest entry into the rapidly growing crowdfunding industry and has created a buzz within the industry’s comparatively sterile atmosphere. Unlike its competitors, ClickStartMe.com provides individuals and businesses with an opportunity to easily raise funds online for almost any legitimate purpose, and also gives its users an online store in which to sell their products after funding. ClickStartMe.com also recognizes the mass appeal of television shows such as "The Voice," "America’s Next Top Model" and "Shark Tank" and has added this variable into the mix for online crowdfunding by holding contests for its users with valuable prizes and trips to exciting locations.